“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love and self control.” 2 Tim. 1:7
My husband is an internal medicine doctor. When he runs across a difficult patient situation, for instance persistence headaches that are not responding to traditional first tier treatments, he refers his patient to someone who specializes in neurology.
Often, when we struggle with something, we forget that we have thousands of spiritual specialists right at our beck and call (and they don’t have a three month waiting period).
Our Catholic ‘specialists’ are Saints. They can help fine-tune our prayer intentions and present them to the Lord.
How exciting to imagine that John Paul II and John XXIII are to be Canonized April 27! Two new Saints to pray for us and one that many of us have had a personal connection to.
There are Saints for almost every type of problem or struggle a person could think of. Some that we might find helpful are:
St. Isidore created the first database and is the patron of computer users, internet and technicians.
St. Marguerite d’Youville is the patron Saint of those who have experienced a broken engagement as she, herself was the victim of an engagement that did not end in marriage and left her broken-hearted.
St. Francis Borgia is the patron of the unemployed, a Saint that many may need to call on during these hard economic times.
St. Monica had a very hard life as her husband was a difficult man and her son did not follow the Catholic Church for many years. As such, she is the patron of disappointing children, spouses of alcoholics, and other things.
We do not hesitate to go to a specialist when our doctor refers us to one, and yet we often neglect these holy men and women who are anxious to support us with their prayers. Can you imagine how much praying goes on in heaven? Unceasing praise and glory to God, along with bringing to our Heavenly King all the needs of His people on earth!!
The other role these heavenly specialists have, is to encourage us in how they lived their own lives in the fullness of the faith. They are wonderful examples of how to practice our faith in the middle of great difficulties. They model virtues, patience and Christian love.
The Saints are real people and are sometimes a little easier to relate to than the struggles of Christ on the cross. We may never experience a physical scourging as Christ did, but Saint Gemma suffered from horrible back pain… that is something many can relate to.
The Saints gave their suffering to Christ and tried to emulate Him! By studying their lives we are encouraged in our own pursuit of holiness.
Mary Lou Rosien
RCIA Coordinator, St. Leo Church, Hilton,NY
Author: Managing Stress with the Help of Your Catholic Faith (OSV),
Catholic Family Boot Camp (Bezalel Books)
Columnist: OSV.com-TCK, Catechists Know How,
and AmazingCatechists.com
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